Modes of Instruction
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) rules define distance education as "The formal educational process that occurs when students and instructors are not in the same physical setting for the majority (more than 50 percent) of instruction." Distance education can include courses and programs offered online, off-campus face-to-face, and electronic-to-groups. Coordinating Board rules recognize two categories of distance education courses: fully distance education courses and hybrid/blended courses. A fully distance education course is defined as "A course which may have mandatory face-to-face sessions totaling no more than 15 percent of the instructional time. Examples of face-to-face sessions include orientation, laboratory, exam review, or an in-person test." A hybrid/blended course is defined as "A course in which a majority (more than 50 percent but less than 85 percent), of the planned instruction occurs when the students and instructor(s) are not in the same place."
Online Courses
All course activity is completed online; there are no required face-to-face sessions within the course, and the course may require minimal on-campus activity.
Hybrid/Blended Courses
Most course activity is completed online, but there are some face-to-face instructional requirements such as lectures, discussions, labs, or other in-person learning activities. Remember that all course requirements for an online course also apply to a hybrid course.
Videoconference
Technologies are used to extend classroom lectures and other activities to students at remote sites in real time. Students attend scheduled lectures at a designated videoconferencing room that originates at an LC campus, local high school, or other location. The primary difference with this mode of instruction is that several sites may be involved in a simultaneous broadcast.
See
Registration section for details and examples of online, hybrid, and interactive videoconference courses.